Will Spain Go Back On Red List?
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy the PC Agency, said there was ‘ no chance’ of Spain being moved into the red list. ‘Its infection rate is dropping fast, meaning any variants are very much under control,’ he said. ‘Spain’s rates are half those of France and its vaccine rate is 65 per cent fully-jabbed.
Will Spain be put on the Red List?
Will Spain be added to the red list? – Spain is unlikely to be added to the red list this week, with the next travel announcement due on Thursday. There had been concerns that the country would make the government’s planned ‘amber watch list’, which would warn Brits of destinations at risk of turning red.
However, the watch list was scrapped at the last minute by the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, following a backlash from ministers and Tory backbenchers. Spain has reported high cases of Covid in recent weeks, including the Beta variant, which is thought to be more resistant to the vaccine.
The country reported 18,647 daily cases yesterday, but it should be noted that this is lower than the UK’s daily cases and Spain’s highest July figures of 44,000. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is expected to announce any changes to Spain this Wednesday or Thursday.
- Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy the PC Agency, said there was “no chance” of Spain being moved into the red list;
- “Its infection rate is dropping fast, meaning any variants are very much under control,” he said;
“Spain’s rates are half those of France and its vaccine rate is 65 per cent fully-jabbed. British tourists there can rest easy. ” 
3 It looks unlikely Spain will be moved to the red list in the coming days Credit: Alamy.
Could Spain move from Amber List to Red List?
THE government’s next travel review is expected on either Wednesday or Thursday this week, with changes to the red, amber and green list. Travel experts have already been predicting which countries are likely to switch colour, with speculation about Spain, Croatia, Madeira and Jamaica. 
2 Travel experts have already been predicting which countries are likely to switch colour, with speculation about Spain, Croatia, Madeira and Jamaica Credit: Getty – Contributor There are currently a number of holiday hotspots on the green list, the most relaxed of the lists, including Croatia , Madeira and Malta. However, the majority of the UK’s favourite destinations are on the amber list, which includes Spain , Greece , Portugal and France. So which countries are expecting to change to green, amber and red this week? We assess what the experts are saying. Paul Charles at the PC Agency has predicted that Poland , Bhutan, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Saudi Arabia will all turn green , based on their Covid rates, vaccination figures and the number of tests from returning travellers coming back positive.
However, the government has said that there will be limited additions to the green list this week. There is little expectation for change among the opposition party too, as Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, a member of the Commons transport committee, said: “With Covid rates in Britain still near the highest in Europe and vaccination rates in most popular holiday destinations having caught up or overtaken the UK’s, we should be seeing a big expansion of the green list.
“But this Government has shown time and again that it couldn’t care one iota about jobs in the travel industry, families desperate to see each other again or people just hoping for a break. ” Mr Charles also predicted a number of green list destinations could turn amber, including Croatia, Madeira, Israel, Lithuania, Montserrat and the Caribbean islands of Anguilla, Antigua and Turks and Caicos.
- There are high hopes for Turkey moving from the red to amber list this week, after a drop in Covid cases;
- Travellers returning to the UK from Turkey currently have to quarantine in a hotel for ten days, but a switch to amber would mean no quarantine at all for children and fully vaccinated Brits;
According to The Times , Test and Trace Figures show that 1. 7 per cent of people tested positive for Covid on return from Turkey in the last three weeks – the same as those arriving from Spain. Of those cases, there were between 0-3 recorded cases of variants of concern, like the Beta variant.
- Data analyst Tim White believes that Turkey is a ‘”borderline candidate” for being moved to the amber list, but cited the reluctance to do so because of the lack of reliability of their data , and said that it was likely the UK was “suspicious” of the figures;
He added that the Maldives could be moved from the red list to the amber list as infection rates have dropped, adding that “virtually all restaurants and bars are open air in resorts and there’s little threat”. There are also fears for Spain moving from the amber to the red list, but Mr Charles said that the switch would be unlikely because the UK doesn’t have enough spaces in hotel quarantine to house all of the returning Brits.
He said: “”Much of Europe won’t change because the government would create utter chaos at our borders during the bank holiday weekend and week if they chose to turn some of the most popular countries red, such as Balearics or Spain, and force so many people into hotel quarantine.
” There are also fears for Jamaica, St Lucia, Dominica and Morocco moving from the amber to the red list. Such a change would cause a scramble among Brit holidaymakers to return back before the change came into force next week, or else they would have to pay £2,285 for a quarantine hotel stay.
The last travel announcement saw seven countries – Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Latvia, Norway and Romania – added to the green list. The controversial “amber-plus” list was also scrapped, putting France back onto the normal amber list, while the UAE was added to the amber list as well.
Mexico was added to the red list, along with Georgia, the French islands of La Reunion and Mayotte. 
2 There are high hopes for Turkey moving from the red to amber list this week, after a drop in Covid cases Credit: Alamy.
Are Spain and Italy set to be put on the watch list?
Why 70% of Spain is Empty
But Spain and Italy are thought to have been among the countries set for the watch list-a move which industry experts warned would scupper holiday plans for millions of Britons.